{"id":211,"date":"2011-10-29T11:27:40","date_gmt":"2011-10-29T07:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/barevarmenia.com\/travelblog\/?p=211"},"modified":"2012-01-17T11:28:34","modified_gmt":"2012-01-17T07:28:34","slug":"quake-cracks-dome-of-ancient-armenian-church-in-van","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barevarmenia.com\/travelblog\/quake-cracks-dome-of-ancient-armenian-church-in-van\/","title":{"rendered":"Quake cracks dome of ancient Armenian church in Van"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van, Turkey, has a crack in its dome because of the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck the province of Van on Sunday, Zaman daily of Turkey reported.<\/p>\n

Officials said their initial observations show that there is no other serious damage to the church, but they are waiting for the aftershocks to end before evaluating the whole structure of the church.<\/p>\n

The Armenian Church of the Holy Cross occupies a special place in medieval Armenian art and architecture. In September 2010, 95 years after religious services ended, the church was reopened as a museum and operated by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Religious service is allowed only once a year at the church, Zaman writes.<\/p>\n

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